ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · patient · degree · chest · perch · shower · stick · scale

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. scale — size or range
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. scale — in music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chest — a box
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — temperature
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mate — a partner
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chest — of your body
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com